Vietnam Art Books -- The College of Arts – Hue University

The College of Arts – Hue University

Hue College of Arts

Hue College of Arts (HCA) has been formed by a merger between the two colleges: Hue College of Fine Arts (established in 1957) and the National College of Music and Dramatic Arts of Hue (founded in 1962). In 1986, the Ministry of Culture and Information issued a decision on the joining together of the two colleges and a change of name as Hue College of Arts. Since 1994, according to the Decree No 30/CP dated April 4, 1994 signed by the Prime Minister, Hue College of Arts has became a member of Hue University, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education and Training.

As for HCA, the Highland and Central area is of special significance to the forming of the regional identity in general as well as the features of arts training in particular. Hue is the cradle of Phu Xuan culture, besides, it is also the place where many different indigenous arts and cultures intersected, among which those of Champa and of High Plateau's ethnic minorities groups are noteworthy. Historically, this area remained to be a convergence point of various types of art and cultures from outside: Malayo-Polynesian, Northeast Asia, Indian continent and the Western countries as well. It is thanks to such a positive convergence that this stripe of area -spreading approximately 200 kilometers in length only- has been the home of three cultural world heritages as recognized by UNESCO: the Old Capital of Hue - where the Hue College of Arts is located, the Old Town of Hoi An and the Cham relics in My Son.

HCA is one of the three largest arts training centers in Vietnam, the others are in HaNoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Up to date, there have been eight fields of study as offered by HCA. Painting, Sculpture, Graphic Arts and Applied Arts, Art Education, Fine Arts, Composing and Music Theory, Music Performance, Ceremonial Court Music and Art Education (Music) including 36 areas of specialization at different levels: four years and five years at tertiary level, four years and nine years at secondary level. Within the aim of expanding its scope and diversifying its type of training, HCA has established linkages and support in terms of offering training for many colleges and universities in Central area as well as giving advanced training courses for student teachers from the Pre-schooling Teacher's Training College, Secondary and Primary schools. In addition, HCA has also engaged in exchange programs for students and staff with various universities in Pacific Asian region and the world.

Scientific research, especially on arts of the Highland and Central region, is set out as an important mission by HCA. During the last years, HCA has facilitated and gained recognition for its various researches into different subjects ranging from ministry level down to the college level as well as themes related to curriculum and instruction course. Besides, HCA has also successfully organized or co-organized many conferences, exhibitions, and arts performance, national and international symposiums. With achievements as such, in 1997, HCA was awarded the 3rd ranged Labour Medal.

In the upcoming years, the orientation in training, as set out by HCA, is to develop its scope rationally by maintaining the current areas of specialization and expanding some other supplementary areas; to continue enhancing its material facilities and premise aimed at, step by step, modernizing equipment and facilities served for learning, teaching and researching, acquiring nationally and internationally standardized classrooms for a long-term objective, i.e. make HCA become one of high quality centers of training in Vietnam.

As for activities related foreign relation, HCA has established cooperation in research and training with several universities and organizations in country and abroad, for instance the student and faculty exchange programs with the Faculty of Fine Arts-Chiangmai University, and the School of Decoration of Strasbourg; the program "Contemporary Arts Exhibition amongst 5 Universities,Vietnam-Thailand", the joint-training program in Ceremonial Court Music by recognized professors of Vietnam and abroad (China, Japan and Korea). HCA has been expanding its relation and cooperation with Art Schools in the United States, France, Australia, and Japan. Besides its training mission, HCA worked in coordination with related institutions and organizations in and outside country to organize performances, exhibitions, conferences and symposium. Among noteworthy events are the tour performance of traditional music in France in 1993, the International Sculpture Symposium in Hue in 1998 and the upcoming International Sculpture Symposium in 2002.

Based on fruitful achievements via foreign relation, HCA will continue maintaining and develop cooperation relationship with schools, national and international training institutions in the two fields of fine arts and music, with a focus on exchange programs in exhibition and performance, student and staff exchange, administration exchange, information exchange... with countries such as Thailand, Japan, France, the United States, Australia, China.

The school has a faculty of about 100 and 900 full time students, of which 538 are at university level, 207 at vocational level and 139 at primary level. There are about 85 instructors.